The Black Isle

We spent part of the day Saturday driving around the Black Isle. As with Friday's adventure, the goal was to see what the various towns and villages were like and whether the commute was a tolerable one. So aside from a break for lunch, we didn't stop and wander anywhere.

Here is a map of the Black Isle to help provide you some bearings. The isle isn't really an island, it's a peninsula surrounded by two firths: Moray Firth and Cromarty Firth. Inverness sits on the banks of the Moray Firth. If you follow the A96 from Inverness to the right beyond Fort George, you'll reach Nairn and eventually Elgin (locations mentioned in my previous blog). Our trip this time took us across both the Moray and Cromarty Firths. We went to Invergordon, which is near Alness at the top of this map but not mentioned; Alness; Dingwall; Muir of Ord; and then Beauly. I still want to see Cromarty, itself, and Fortrose, but that will be another day.

It was a sunny day to start. Here's a shot of the castle's north tower that is under renovation. We park just below the castle.

Here is the bridge over the Moray Firth. I didn't capture it with this photo, but there are houses nestled on the face of the hill to the right.

A passing shot as we drove.

That is the Cromarty Firth. The road circles to the left and we cross it on that bridge. I have no photos of the actual crossing because I was stunned by the beauty of my surroundings. We made the corner and I literally stopped talking in mid-sentence. A part of me knew I should snap a photo but I didn't want to stop taking it all in to do so. I actually got emotional as it slowly sunk in that this was now home. Talk about feeling blessed!

We toured Invergordon, but weren't overly impressed. It has a big industrial presence because of an energy company there, so it just didn't have the vibe we like. We then stopped in the lovely town of Alness for a bite to eat. We ate in this charming cafe.

This is the high street in Alness. The town has won various beautification awards over the past few years. I can see why. It's a very pretty place.

Another road shot as we left Alness and headed toward Dingwall.

A shot of the Cromarty Firth. That's one of several drilling rigs in the firth. We didn't know it at the time, but I have since learned that the firth often serves as a kind of parking space for these rigs. They're rather ugly.

A little tunnel. It's nothing spectacular, really, but it was different.

This is a shot taken between Beauly and Inverness. That's the bridge we originally crossed to get on to the Black Isle at the beginning of the trip. Beauly is an easy 20 minute drive to downtown Inverness, so it's a definite housing contender. As is Alness and to a lesser extent, Dingwall.